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Chapters 1–5

Lockwood, a tenant at Thrushcross Grange, visits his landlord Mr. Heathcliff, but is received coldly. During Lockwood’s second visit, he spends the night in a forbidden room and encounters the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw. At Lockwood’s cry of terror, Heathcliff rushes into the room, begging Catherine to come back. At Thrushcross Grange, Nelly Dean, Lockwood’s housekeeper, clarifies the family relationships at Wuthering Heights. Nelly begins her tale, beginning when Heathcliff has just come to Wuthering Heights as a young orphan. He is loved by Catherine and hated by her older brother, Hindley, who becomes master of the house upon the death of their father.

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Chapters 6–9

Nelly continues her story. In it, Hindley and his wife Frances return to Wuthering Heights and make Heathcliff work the fields. While playing on the moors one day, Catherine injures her ankle and spends five weeks at Thrushcross Grange healing under the tutelage of the Linton family, who teach her to be a lady. Nelly’s story continues with the birth of Hindley’s son, Hareton, and the death of Frances. She reveals the budding romance between Catherine and Edgar, their eventual marriage, and how Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights after hearing Catherine say that she can’t marry Heathcliff because of his low status.

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Chapters 10–14

Lockwood falls ill but demands to know the rest of Nelly’s story. She begins where she left off. Heathcliff, now a gentleman, returns to Wuthering Heights after Catherine’s marriage to Edgar, and Isabella falls in love with Heathcliff. Following a confrontation between Edgar and Heathcliff, Catherine becomes ill and discovers she’s pregnant. Isabella and Heathcliff elope, and Isabella writes to Nelly for help, explaining that Wuthering Heights is unbearable and that Hindley has a mad obsession with Heathcliff, who has obtained the position of power at Wuthering Heights. Nelly visits Isabella, at which point Heathcliff threatens to hold Nelly prisoner, forcing her to bring a letter to Catherine.

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Chapters 15–20

Before Catherine can open Heathcliff’s letter, Heathcliff himself appears, and Catherine claims that both Heathcliff and Edgar have broken her heart. When Edgar returns, Heathcliff is forced to wait outside; Catherine gives birth and dies two hours later. Not long after, Isabella leaves for London where she gives birth to Heathcliff’s son, Linton. Hindley dies six months after Catherine, leaving Heathcliff the master of Wuthering Heights, where he plans to raise Hareton on his own. Upon learning that Isabella is dying, Edgar hurries to London to take charge of young Linton; however, this allows young Cathy, now thirteen, to sneak away from Thrushcross Grange and meet Hareton. When Edgar returns with Linton, Heathcliff is determined to take possession of his son, which Edgar agrees to.

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Chapters 21–26

Cathy, now sixteen, visits Wuthering Heights, and when she tells her father about the visit, Edgar tries to explain why he has kept her relatives secret, allowing Cathy to understand Edgar’s disdain for Heathcliff. All the while, Cathy exchanges letters with Linton until Nelly discovers their correspondence and calls it off. After Edgar falls ill and Cathy is reproached by Heathcliff for toying with Linton’s heart, she begins traveling in secret to be with Linton. Edgar says that if marrying Linton would make his daughter happy, he will allow their marriage, regardless of the fact that it will mean Heathcliff inherits Thrushcross Grange. When Cathy and Nelly ride to their meeting with Linton at the moors, they find him frail and weak near Wuthering Heights, insisting that his health is improving, a statement that Cathy and Nelly worry over.

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Chapters 27–30

The next time Nelly and Cathy ride to meet with Linton, they are apprehended by Heathcliff who locks them inside the house until Cathy has married Linton. Nelly is freed by Zillah, the housekeeper, at which point Nelly hurries back to Thrushcross Grange where she tells the dying Edgar that Cathy is safe and will be home soon. Edgar dies before he can change his will, giving Heathcliff exactly what he wanted. Heathcliff tells Nelly that while the sexton was digging Edgar’s grave, Heathcliff had him dig up Catherine’s as well. Linton dies, leaving Cathy at Heathcliff’s mercy. The story now finished, Lockwood intends to return to London.

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Chapters 31–34

After a time away from the moors, Lockwood returns and writes about his experience. In particular, he writes that Heathcliff became more solitary and after an incident at breakfast, he began spending nights walking in the dark and returning in a strange mood, until eventually he asked everyone to leave Wuthering Heights and died shortly thereafter. Later, Lockwood is told by Nelly that Cathy and Hareton have married and are due to move into Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood discovers the graves of Edgar, Catherine, and Heathcliff.

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Next section Chapters 1–5

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